ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia senior defensive back Maurice Smith has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week following his performance in the win over #8 Auburn, according to a league announcement.

This marks the first conference honor for Smith, who is a graduate transfer with the Bulldogs after playing his first three seasons at Alabama. Smith is the third Georgia player to earn SEC honors this season with junior tailback Nick Chubb (Offensive Player – Sept. 5) and redshirt freshman kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (Special Teams Player – Nov. 7) also garnering the awards.

Smith, a native of Sugar Land, Texas, had a third-quarter interception and returned it 34 yards for the Bulldogs’ only touchdown during the 13-7 win over the Tigers. This was Smith’s second pick this year and the first he returned for a score since his playing career at Dulles High School.

Smith also had three tackles during a Georgia defensive effort that held Auburn to just seven points, which matches a career low under coach Gus Malzahn with the Tigers. Auburn had been averaging 494.1 yards per game this season and 43.0 points per game over the last five contests before last week’s contest.  The Tigers finished the game with only 164 total yards.

The Bulldogs (6-4, 4-4 SEC) host the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (4-5, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The SEC Network Alternate will televise the matchup at 12 p.m.